Numb
by dawnleaf1234
Summary: "Steven, please understand that I love you, but right now, I'm too numb to love..." Just a quick little vignette (lolishotashipping)
1. Chapter 1

Angry was an understatement; Cynthia was seething. Not only did Lance bail on her, she didn't believe that he had the guts to break up with her over a text message. Right now she was standing in the rain underneath an umbrella, listening to the steady patter of droplets hitting the surface, then slowly droop down the edges and hit the ground, smaller droplets flying away from the impact.

She stood there quietly, contemplating whether she should move from her spot or wait for someone to find her. She settled on the latter as the anger slowly slipped away, only to be replaced by an umbreable amount of sadness. Though she may have been alone at the time, she didn't break her calm, stoic nature. Why was she always being the one to recive all this hurt? Just as the thought crossed her mind, another overwhelmed it, nearly pushing her over the edge...

FLASHBACK

Cynthia returned to the scene where she was reading THAT article, the article of her parents death. They both died that night during a flash flood; as the pair were walking home from work on the hillside of route 210, all of a sudden a rush of water sent them over the bridge, tumbling down the waterfall. Pokemon rangers had rushed to the scene, notifying Proffessor Carolina shortly.

Even at a young age, Cynthia's personality was cool, kine and understanding, but, when her grandma broke the news to her, Cynthia collapsed on the ground, bawling her eyes out. Proffessor Carolina, not surprised with her outburst, hugged her tight, letting a few of her own slip out. They stayed there on the ground until Cynthia coudn't cry anymore. Excusing herself, she hid in her room for the rest of the week, refusing to come out unless it was mealtime.

It took her a long time to get over her parents deaths but after that, she vowed herself to become the best, just to make her parents proud.

END OF FLASHBACK

The rain worsened and brought with it wind. It whipped at her cheeks and hair, throwing them backwards. The rain droplets felt like needles on her face. Ignoring this, she let thought succumb her again, drifting off into another flashback -

FLASHBACK

Before she met Lance, she had found another person she came to love. This was Steven stone. they matched each other perfectly, so much that the elite 4 and the gym leaders of their own regions began planning their future wedding. They shared a love for pokemon history and both were champion (1 former XD) But he crushed her in a way that, in Cynthia's opinion, even worse than Lance.

The pair was walking down the aisles of a pokemon center, checking on their pokemon after a world tournament. They didn't say a word to each other; instead, they were looking into each others eyes. Cynthia was lost in his steel-grey eyes, gleaming brightly with excitement.

She stayed in that trance until he broke the silence. She saw the change in his expression; from neutral to a regretful and hurt look.

"I can't do this any more."

Cynthia's eyes widened at this statement, her mind going blank. She opened her mouth to ask but he had continued.

"Cynthia... I know this is hard but..."

She interuppted him, letting some anger out.

"Steven, why are you saying this?"

He stood there, silent. She cupped his face and brought him close.

"Steven, what is making you do this? I thought..."

He groaned in defeat, removed her hands and walked away. THe last thing she heard from him was the echo of his shoes when it hit the ground.

END OF FLASHBACK

To Cynthia, not knowing the reason why they broke up was more painful. Her relationship with Lance? This she had brought upon herself. She never loved him, instead, she used him, tricked him. He was a cushion used to break the fall from the loss of Steven. From the events of today, he probably figured it out.

Soft footseps jolted her out of her train of though. The click-clack sound of shoes hitting the ground sounded awfully familiar. Turning around, she saw the last person on earth she wanted to see...

Steven. 


	2. Chapter 2

He stood there frozen to the spot, his steel eyes boring into her skull, making her cringe mentally. Steven didn't change at all since the last time she saw him: still the same figure, size and clothes. Fear coursed through Cynthia when their eyes met, sending some sort of electrical spark through her body. She felt warmth rise to her face as she looked away. Feeling slightly humiliated, she proceeded to walk away...

"Stop!"

Halting abruptly at his voice, she could picture him with his arm out, as a attempt to reach out to her.

"Cynthia, please listen to me" Steven pleaded.

His voice was laced thickly with fear, and with a slight undertone of despair. Turning around she saw panic in his eyes, something that was very, very rare when it came to Steven. Brushing away her bangs, she lifted on of her eyebrows in confusion. Taking her expression as that she s listening, he voiced his thoughts,

"I'm sorry"

Voice ringing loud and clear, Cynthia's mind went blank again. She thought he had come here to mock her, tell her " I told you so" or something that would give her heart more pain than it was already in. But instead, the two words he spoke acted like a balm, soothing it.

"All those years ago, we shouldn't have separated... I know it s my fault Cynthia, not yours"

Her expression was the same as her emotion, stunned. In the matter of seconds, she found herself walking towards him, sheltering him under the umbrella. The pair stayed in a silent atmosphere despite the soft pitter-patter of rain.

"Steven, why?"

Brow furrowed and eyes glazed, Steven found himself in deep thought, thinking how he should break it to her.

"I don't know. At the time I thought it would be best if we were away from each other for a while, but when that did happen, I figured it wasn't worth it. For each passing day I missed you even more, so much to the point I couldn't function properly. Because of all the guilt, I couldn t bring myself to face you and apologise."

Pausing to catch his breath, Steven continued,

"When I finally overcame my guilt, you had left and started dating Lance. You had moved on and I was left in the dust. You were long gone and I couldn't win you back. Cynthia I'm so- mmph!"

She closed the distance between them, giving him only a short kiss. When she pulled out, she chuckled at his expression his eyes were widened, mouth ajar with a slight pink tint on his face. He coughed nervously and proceeded to ask her a question,

"So, why are you standing in the middle of the rain?"

Slightly taken back at his bluntness, she answered,

"Lance we broke up..."

He caught her off by surprise by giving her a hug. His scent wafted around her, engulfing her. Oh how she missed all of this. She trembled in his grip, letting all of her walls crumble. Tears cascade into Steven's already wet blazer. Steven held her closer as the tears wracked her body, sobs escaping from her mouth.

Memories of her and Lance flashed through her mind, making her feel hopelessly useless towards Steven. She mumbled something incoherent into Steven's blazer but Steven had heard her every word,

"Steven, please understand that I love you but right now, I'm too numb to love." 


End file.
